


Fur Feather or Fur Worse

by KenzieFive



Series: RT Hybrid AU [2]
Category: Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter RPF
Genre: Gen, Goat!Geoff, Hybrids, RT Hybid AU X, Rabbit!Ray, bird!gavin, cat!Michael, cow!Ryan, lion!Jack, rt hybrid AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-02-20
Updated: 2014-03-09
Packaged: 2018-01-13 03:53:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 15
Words: 18,031
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1211581
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KenzieFive/pseuds/KenzieFive
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Based on <a href="http://padalickingood.tumblr.com/">Padalickingood</a>'s AU within an AU.</p>
<p>The epidemic all started in Austin, Texas according to the reports, a natural phenomenon of people growing animal traits like wings and ears. The first case was Gavin Free, a young British cameraman who sprouted the wings of a Lark after he had supposedly fell ill. Not soon after, people all over the world were in the same position as he was, including his own coworkers. Once reality hits them that this is their lives now, they have to adjust to their new bodies.</p>
<p>Follow me on Tumblr <a href="http://geoffgayzerramsey.tumblr.com/">right here</a> for updates and extra info!</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Redbull

Gavin couldn't pinpoint it, but he knew _something_ was wrong with him. It was like his whole body was in a fog, and he felt anxious for no reason. Getting out of bed seemed like it would cause more problems then it should.

Maybe he _should_ go to a doctor for once.

Before he could really think about it, Geoff was already pounding on his door and barging in, giving Gavin just enough time to fall out of bed.

"Hey buddy, I was think- Why the fuck are you on the floor?" Geoff was fully dressed and ready for work. "I don't care, actually."

"Hello to you too, Geoffrey." Gavin, untangled himself from his sheet and pushed himself off the floor. Well, he tried to, because his arms gave out on him and he slammed into the floor again with a groan.

Geoff was concerned now, knowing the lad shouldn't be hungover at all since he went to bed early. "Uh... You ok, dude?" He put his hand out to help him up, gripping Gavin's wrist tight and pulling with all his weight because the younger didn't have the strength to get himself up. "You're shaking like a leaf! Are you sick or something?"

Now sitting on his bed, Gavin looked at his hands that buzzed without his control. "I-I guess, I felt fine last night." Very quickly, a cool hand was on and off his forehead and another was on his bare back.

"You're burning up and covered in sweat, dude. You're staying home, no argument, and I'll take you over to my place where Griffon can take care of your ass."

Gavin stared at Geoff blankly, losing focus on him as he spoke, until the world blurred around him and his eyes slid closed as a string of curses echoed in his head.

When he opened his eyes, he was no long on his bed but on the Ramsey's couch, Geoff sitting across from him, stress evident on his face. When he saw he was awake, relief flooded over him.

"Jesus dicks, man, you scared the crap out of me. Never faint in front of me again, _ever_." He rubbed his face. "I already called you in sick, told them I would be a little late. Griffon went out to get you some stuff, medicine and shit I guess, should be back any minute... I wanted to make sure you woke up before I left."

"... 'M sorry, Geoff." Gavin mumbled out, rubbing his head. He was still in just his boxers, cover up with a blanket, and the clock read 8 in the morning. "How long was I out?"

"Maybe 20 minutes, give or take. I scooped you up and ran over here as soon as I could."

"Sorry." He repeated

"Don't be fucking sorry, man, just get better." Geoff got up from his spot on the couch. "I'm gonna leave for work, don't worry about anything and just rest, 'k? I'll be back during lunch to check up on you."

Gavin mumbled something incoherent, which he took as approval and walked out the door.

\---

"Where's Gavin?" Geoff was greeted by the friendly face of a scowling Michael.

"Sick." He didn't want the Jersey boy to worry, because he knew he would.

But he didn't drop it. "What do you mean sick? How sick?"

"I mean that he woke up feeling bad, so he's at home right now. He had a fever and shit, that's all you need to know. Get to work." Geoff watched as he glared at him, but turned back to his computer. "And your not going to go see him." He said as he started editing.

He heard hands slam against a desk. "Why not?! Is he that sick that he's quarantined in a bubble?"

"I mean that he's in no condition for visitors, alright? He need rest, and you would just cause something." Geoff sits down at his desk, turned towards him and saw that his words were a little harsh; Michael had shrunk back into his chair. "Ugh... I'm going to check on him at lunch, you can come if you promise to just say hi."

Ray walked in holding a water bottle. "Why are you so late, Geoff? And where's Vav?"

"My boi is sick Ray!" Michael cried. "We have to go save him!" He giggled as Ray took his place next to him.

"Save who?" Jack and Ryan walked back in with Ryan's setup. "And nice of you to finally show up, Geoff. I was wondering where you were."

"We're going to go see Gavin for lunch." Ray told them.

"No, it's not a fucking field trip to the zoo, I shouldn't even be letting you come." Geoff pointed at Michael. "He's in bad shape so he might be staying home the whole week if he doesn't get better."

" _That_ bad?" Ryan sounded worried.

"That bad. Griffon's taking care of him right now." 

"So we're going to go see him." Jack said, not asking.

"Fuck, fine, I guess."

\---

At some point Gavin had fallen asleep again. Griffon had given him some strong medicine, which made him feel great before it knocked him out.

In his dream, he was falling. He felt the wind whipping at his face and the ground was growing closer. But before he hit the earth, his back erupted in pain and suddenly he was gliding parallel to the surface. He could see, on either side of him, were a pair of large, caramel-colored wings spanning at least 20 feet.

He jolted awake, still face first on the couch. "Holy crap..." He breathed as he pushed himself off the cushion. The pain felt so real to him, despite just being a drug-induced dream. Speaking of drugs, he felt a thousand times better than earlier.

He turned his head and noticed a note on the table, which he grabbed and quickly read.

" _Gavin,_

_Had to go run a few errands, and I figured you would just sleep for a while. I left the medicine and water on the table. Geoff called and said the guys are coming to visit, I hope your feeling a little better by then! I'll be back as soon as I can._

_Love, Griffon_ "

Sure enough, next to the note was a bottle of pills and a cup of water. But there was something more important on Gavin's mind.

He really has to fucking piss.

He got up with no problem, feeling light on his feet, as he jogged down the hall into the bathroom. He didn't really pay attention, his focus entirely on his bladder, until business was done and he stepped in front of the mirror to wash his hands.

Gavin froze like a deer in headlights looking at his reflection. His hair was a reck, as usual, and his skin was paler than normal, but that was ignored. There was two massive brown clumps of feathers tucked up against his back, which quickly puffed open into giant wings when he screamed, hitting the walls along the way. A few feathers swirled in the air, brushing against his skin and proving their authenticity much to his panic.

After the initial shock, Gavin touched them to see if, maybe, this was a hallucination. Maybe he's still asleep, the medicine was pretty strong, so this could be a nightmare. But his hand hit solid wings, very _real_ wings. He could feel them on his back and, after concentrating, could move them like any other limb.

"Gavin! I'm home, bud, and you got some visitors!" Geoff called as he opened the door, and he heard a loud squawk from somewhere in the house. "Fuck, where is he?" He looked in and didn't see him on the couch. Everyone followed in after him, looking around for him while Geoff ran towards the bathroom.

"Don't come in, Geoffrey!" Gavin called from the other side of the door before he could say anything.

"You ok in there? Open up, you're worrying me." Geoff turned the knob and, no surprise, was unlocked.

"No, Geoff!" Gavin cried, but it was no use as he was already in the room. Geoff froze, just staring wide-eyed at him as the wings twitched uncomfortably behind him. Even worse, the rest of the crew was now standing in the doorway, looking much like Geoff.

Ray was the first to say anything. "I thought we weren't going to the fucking zoo."


	2. Got Your Tongue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An explanation won't stop this shit from spreading.

"So they were just there when you got up?" Ryan interrogated their newly-feathered man. Everyone was stood around him, inspecting the wings from every angle they could. The least they could have let him do was put pants on, but that was none of their concern.

"I guess so? I didn't really notice until I saw them in the mirror." Gavin looked around, getting a little lightheaded and wobbled slightly. He reached out and grabbed Michael for support, him being the closest to him. "... Need to sit down."

Without saying a word they all guided him to the couch and sat him down for all but a second when he squeaked in pain. "What the hell- Oh for god sakes, why _this_?!" Gavin reached into the back of his boxers and pulled out more feathers, part of a thick plumage at the base of his spine.

"So what do we do?" Jack asked to no one in particular. "How does something like this even happen, it's impossible, right?"

Ryan shrugged. "Theoretically it _should_ be, and the laws of aviation-"

"This is no fucking time for a science lesson, Ry." Geoff cut him off. "Our foreign friend just became our feathered friend, and there's no explanation or solution."

"What if it's contagious?" Ray asked innocently. "Like, what if this is some kind of zombie infection thing, or a dormant mutated chromosome that's been activated by a natural event?" Everyone just stared at him. "I'm just saying, I've played enough video games with those plot lines..."

"And that's actually entirely possible, Ray might be onto something." Ryan rested his chin on his hand. "All creatures have a common ancestors, so just maybe, _maybe_ , there are genes in our bodies that link us to other animals that have since been turned off in the process of evolution that could be turned on. And the natural event theory... There is something that happened recently."

"Is this what we're really doing, trying to explain the unexplainable?" Geoff sounded frantic.

Ryan continued. "We had a Black Moon in January, it's when there are two New Moons in one month. It's thought to amplify powers in some religions."

"Surely we've had those before, right? Why now, if this really is the case?" A puzzled look was plastered on Gavin's face.

"It also happened to be one of the closest Supermoons we've ever had. Black Moons are not that common, but for it to be so close to us may have triggered something."

Gavin stayed quiet for a moment before commenting. "...So what you're saying is that I've transformed like a God damn reverse Werewolf, and that it's permanent."

"More importantly, if I'm right, most of the God damn planet is going to transform like a reverse Werewolf at some point, if not everyone, including us." He gestured to everyone sitting on the couch. "And that there is no way to predict what we'll become, when it will happen, or how our bodies will react. We might not be as luck as Gavin Free-as-a-bird."

"So what do we do, we can't just go around telling people this, we'll get locked up in a loony bin." Jack scoffed. "We can't just wait around either, eventually something's going to happen."

"I say we warn everyone at the office, at least, they'll just laugh it off if they don't believe us. Maybe pass it off as something Mad King related."

"What about _me_!? I'm a bloody pigeon, how am I supposed to go back to work?"

Suddenly the front door opened and everyone went completely silent. "Hello, anyone home, or awake?" Griffons voice rang through the room.

"Yeah, we're in here, babe... Gavin's up, but, uh..." Geoff stood up and met her in the hallway. "Don't freak out."

Her face dropped and she was already pushing past him. "What, is he ok, did he get... Worse?" Her words trailed off the second her eyes found the Brit.

"I said don't freak out."

"Saying and doing are two very different things." She laughed nervously. "I _must_ be going crazy, probably caught what Gavin has, right?"

Gavin pulled the tail out from behind him. "I wish nothing more than to be joking right now, Griff."

After filling Griffon in, the final decision was to bring Gavin to the office and explain the situation, as crazy as it seemed. Everyone, albeit taken aback by it all, was not scared or freaked out. What upset Gavin the most was the fact that the only clothes that covered him for now were XL sweatshirts and sweatpants.

* * *

The first one to change was Michael.

It was a few days later, maybe a week or so, after Gavin started coming to work again with his wardrobe properly accommodated to his new life. He was asleep in bed when he woke up in a panic for no reason.

His whole body ached and he was drenched in a cold sweat, plus his stomach was churning in a way that he knew wouldn't end well. Michael just assumed it was food poisoning or something, that he'd blow a few chunks and sleep it off like he usually did.

The first red flag should have been when he nicked his tongue on very sharp canines, but in his state of mind he hardly noticed as he violently wrenched into the toilet.

After that was dreamless sleep, unnerving and unusual for Michael. Although when he woke up, he thought nothing of it and started to get ready for work. First step, put on glasses.

He would have put them on, if he had ears to hook them on. His glasses slid right off his face three times before he checked his head, nearly screaming when he couldn't locate his ears, just hair, and rushed to the bathroom.

Hidden in his messy mop of hair were two twitching cat ears, and no human ears in sight.

He tried to remain as calm as possible, praying that this was all just a nightmare. "Please don't have a tail, please don't have- GOD FUCKING DAMMIT!"

Lindsay shot out of bed when he screamed and slammed the bathroom door. She was used to hearing his elevated voice, but never this early, so she knew something terrible must have happened. "Michael?! What happened?" She scrambled out of bed and to the door, which was locked.

"The world is fucked up and has chosen me as it's next victim! This has to be some sick joke God is pulling, and I ain't having it!" Something shattered inside the room, and she knew he just punched the mirror.

"Michael, what do you mean? Did... _IT_ happen?" Lindsay jiggled the knob again. "Let me in, now, so I can clean up your hand."

"Did I mutate into a fucking freak of nature? Oh, _no_ , I just enjoy locking myself away from the ridiculing eyes of the public to vomit at my appearance." Through the yelling, though, he unlocked the lock and pulled the door open to face his fiancée.

She gasped, covering the smile on her face. "Oh. My. God!"

The ears flattened against his head and his tail went between his legs. "Don't say it, don't you _fucking_ dare."

"My little kitty cat!" She thrusted her arms around his neck, nearly knocking the two of them over. "Oh, you're so lucky, I want to be a cat! I'm going to buy so many toys for you, oh I _finally_ get to have a cat!"

"I'm not a pet, for fucks sake!" He tried to push her away.

"Oh but you're _my_ pet, there's a difference. Now, let's get ready for work, I want to show you off!" She pecked him quickly on the cheek and bonded back to their bedroom to get dressed.

"I can't see for shit, I gots no ears for my glasses!" He called to here.

"Then wear your contacts for today, we'll figure that out!" She appeared in the doorway again, wearing one of his shirts. "When do you think I'll change, hun? What do you think I'll be?"

"Preferably less annoying." Michael winced, pulling some glass from his hand. "Can you help me? You said you would."

"Yeah, sorry." She sat him down on the toilet and kneeled kneeled next to him, carefully extracting anything she could see. Using an old towel, she cleaned up the blood on the floor and on him, then wrapped his injury in some gauze. "Do you want to stay home for today, because of...?" She asked when she was done.

"No, I can hide it." Michael was quick to answer. "I can put on my beanie and tuck the tail away."

"...If you say so. Clean this up, I'll put the news on for a bit."

He did as he was told, gathering the pieces of mirror into a neat pile to be swept up later, then finally went back to their bedroom to get ready.

"Uh, I don't think you'll be needing to hide it..." Lindsay said uncomfortably while watching the local station.

"Why's that?" She simply turned up the volume.

"... _Reports have been coming in from all over the Austin and surrounding areas; People are not so human anymore. More than a dozen people have sought medical attention, all coming in with very real animalistic additions to their bodies ranging from wings to horns that seemed to grow overnight. More on this story at 8._ "

\---

"Oh, this is amazing! Oh man!" Geoff laughed filled the room, him leaning back as far as his chair allowed. "Michael Kitten Jones, everyone!" 

Michael yanked the beanie back on his head. "I fucking hate you, hope your animal sucks dicks."

"Guys, guys! Michael's hit pu'pur'ty at last!" He continued to cackle as the others rushed back into the room.

"Michael, did it happen to you? I'm not the only one?" Gavin's wings fluttered behind him. Over the last few days, he became very comfortable in his new body, so much so that it seems like he doesn't even notice them anymore.

"He's a fucking cat, ears to tail." Their boss continued to snicker, finally calming down. "So cute, I just want to pet him."

Defeated, Michael ripped the hat off his head, his ears flopping out for all to see. "And we're not the only ones, Gavin. Other people in Texas are starting to change, it was all over the news. There's a real life animal Armageddon going on out there, and we're motherfucking ground zero."


	3. Mufasa

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Geoff is jealous that he isn't the first of the Gents to get a tail.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There is really no set schedule to updates, it's just whenever I have something written! Also, the first six chapters will just be their transformations (if you couldn't tell already) and any chapters after that, if there are any, will be them getting used to their new bodies/learning about their behavioral changes (some you can already see, like in this chapter). I hope I'm doing the AU justice, I love it so much, and I'd love to hear any ideas you have for me, leave them in the comments!

Jack's transformation was different from the other two lads. It felt like his whole body was on fire, and it lasted for hours. Like, imagine your insides trying to force their way out of you from every inch of you being, that's how it felt.

It started at work one day, and it was just a pounding headache, nothing he hadn't dealt with before. He popped a few Advil and was good to go for a little, until it turned into a migraine.

"Fuck _me_ , dude." He hissed, only him and Geoff in the room. He held his head in his hands, rubbing at his temples.

"Sorry, I'm happily married to a beautiful woman." Geoff joked. "What'cha complaining about now?"

"My head, this damn headache just won't quit." Jack took a deep breath. "I hope this isn't what I think it is."

He had Geoff's attention now. "Wait, no, not you _too_! Not yet!" He leapt from his chair and grabbed Jack by the shoulders. "I wanted to be first, this is _bull_ shit!"

"Yeah, let me just hit a pause button on my body... I'm gonna go home." He pushed Geoff's hands away. The migraine was starting to screw with his vision and he felt sick to his stomach.

"I'll drive you, last thing we need is you passing out at the wheel." Geoff grabbed his keys from his desk. "At least come into work as something badass, like a wolf or some shit. The Gents need cooler animals than the Lads."

"I'll be sure to do that, Boss." He chuckled. "But, God _damn_ , I need to lay down."

"Let me just tell Matt, keep him in the loop of all these animal hijinks... Did you know Monty's a Red Panda? Fucking cute as _dicks_ , dude, just don't tell him I said it." He disappeared out the door, there was some yelling, and then he was back. "Let's go."

The car ride was mostly silent, just the radio on a low hum. Geoff kept glancing over, catching Jacks eyes flutter closed and pop back open in an attempt to not fall asleep. Eventually, his head lolled and he was breathing softly in the passenger seat, and Geoff couldn't bring himself to wake him until he pulled up to his building. "Hey, hey, buddy." Geoff tapped Jack lightly on his shoulder.

His head snapped up and he looked at Geoff, dazed. "Oh, shit, sorry. We're here already?"

"Yeah, do you need help getting to your place?" For once, Geoff was showing compassion.

"No, no, I'll be fine." He waved his hand in the air as he opened the door. "Thanks for the ride... I'll call if I need anything, don't worry. I'll leave my car at the office for now, thats fine too."

"...Ok, feel better." 

Jack mumbled a quick thanks, getting in his home as fast as he could.

\---

Once in the safe confines of his apartment, he could finally lay down and close his eyes. It felt weird to be home this early when he should be working, being able to rest on the couch that was currently being warmed by the suns rays seeping through his blinds. It was too inviting to pass up, and Jack soon found himself snoozing comfortably in the warmth.

When he woke up, the sun had set and left his spot cold.  He didn't move for a while, wanting to return to blissful sleep, but finally decided that he should maybe eat something. With Caiti in Australia, he was going to be alone all week and has to take care of himself.

Bad idea. The second he got up, the whole world swirled around him painfully and the earth seemed to slide out from underneath him. His knees gave out and he dropped to the floor, gripping his head like it was about to explode. He wanted to scream, yell, curse, _anything_ he could to make it stop. The level of pain he felt was like nothing he ever felt before; He's broken bones and been in many fights, but none of it compared to _this_.

After what seemed like forever, the pain died down so that it was only mind numbingly painful. He crawled back onto the couch and just laid there and, if he didn't move, he could pretend everything was ok and put his mind somewhere els. Eventually, he was able to fall back asleep where the pain couldn't get him.

Everything was sore when he finally got up, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. Tentatively, he sat up and... Nothing happened. Besides not having his glasses on, he had no blurry vision, no pounding headache, nothing. But he did notice that his hair fell completely into his face, which is odd because he just got a haircut.

"The fuck?" He brushed it out of his face and paused, feeling the hair around his face. His hair was lush and soft, even his beard, and wrapped completely around his head. "Shitshitshitshit _shit_!" Grabbing his glasses, Jack scurried off the couch, through the kitchen, and leaped up the stairs in three steps to get to the bathroom.

Once he was in front of a mirror, holding his glasses to his face, he let out a thundering laugh, forgetting about all the pain he went through.

\---

A full 48 hours have gone by, and no one has heard from or seen Jack.

"What if he's not ok, like he reacted badly?" Ray sat at his desk, just looking at Jack's empty chair. "Plus, we've got to record some Let's Plays, _and_ AHWU."

"I'm sure he's fine, it took Gavin a few days too." Geoff tied to not sound nervous, for the youngsters sake. "Plus, he told me he would call if he needed anything. He didn't call, so he didn't need anything."

"Yeah, but at least we knew where he was and spoke to him. Jack's disappeared completely... And what if he _couldn't_ call?"

"I reckon his fine, Ray. It bloody hurts, I'll tell you that." Gavin slipped his headphones off, shuddering slightly and ruffled his wings absentmindedly. "It takes a lot out of you, feels like your bursting or something. I never want to feel like that again."

"I was hocking up my dinner, it's gross." Michael's ears twitched from under his beanie. "Ten bucks says he's sleeping it off. Also, have you been downtown lately, Gavvers?"

"No, why?"

"Fucking half the people now are hybrids! Pretty soon the whole state's going to be animals. There have been cases all over the world now, too."

"I'm the original though, the start of it all." Gavin smiled at Michael, biting his lip. "And you were second. We're like Adam and Eve."

"Shut the fuck up, get the fuck out of here." Michael swatted the Creeper off his desk, gaining a cry from the other. 

Suddenly, the door to the office was thrusted open, making everyone in the room jump out of their skin and look up. Gavin's feathers puffed up, even the ones he discover on his chest, when he saw who is was. "Jack, oh my god!"

Two round ears stuck out of a ginger mane, flowing down to his shoulders. He smiled, long canines showing and a thick tail with a tuff of fur swishing into view, waiting for everyone's reaction as he stood with his chest out. "I'm a motherfucking lion, bitches! Try to fuck with me now!"

"No _fucking_ fair, why do you get to be a cool, big cat and I'm a fucking _pet_?!" Michael stood up, tail puffed up and twitching in every direct. "Fucking bullshit. And how are your glasses staying up?"

"Right now, just a rubber band that I tied on. And sorry, cub, but only the _big_ guys get to be the big cats." Jack laughed, feeling a rumble in his chest. "You should hear me roar, I can fucking roar!"

"Ok, if Jack's not here we need to- Holy shit!" Ryan walked into the room and falls back onto his ass as a roar rumbles in the room. "What the fuck was that?!"

Jacks hair was now raised slightly, tail flicking eagerly from side to side. Michael had coward, tail tucked as soon as the sound hit his ears. Gavin had somehow found a spot to perch on his desk, getting as far from the source as possible without leaving the room, a few feathers floating in the air around him. "I'm here, don't worry. Roll the camera, let's get AHWU started, it's time to show all the fans what a _real_ hybrid looks like." Gavin and Michael scowl as him, ideas of how to fuck with him already forming in their heads. We'll see how tough the king is with a thorn in his paw.


	4. Edgar

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ryan doesn't enjoy his animal as much as Geoff does.

Ryan hadn't meant to fall asleep on the job, it sort of just... _Happened_. One minute he was editing a GTA V Let's Play, the next he was being shaken by a very worried looking Border Collie. By the looks of it, he had dozed off for a while.

"Ry, Ry wake up. What's wrong with you, you were supposed to meet in the office for Minecraft nearly _ten minutes_ ago." Caleb paws at Ryan's arm, jostling him back into reality. "We thought you left, we didn't see you back here. Good thing I checked."

Every limb felt sluggish as Ryan sat up, looking around at the now empty studio. "I-I guess I... I don't know what..." His words slurred slightly with sleep.

"It's cool, but could you _please_ just get up now? Everything is set up for you, you just need to sit down and play."

"Yeah, yeah... Sorry." Saving his work and now slightly more awake, he gets up and makes the short walk to the Achievement Hunter office.

"Nice of you to show up, Ryan!" Geoff yells from his seat after syncing his audio. "Ready to, I don't know, fucking uh... Tame some Michaels?"

"Oh, ha-dee-fucking ha, Geoff. Because we're taming cats and I'm a cat." Michael spits, all the while Ryan gets his capture set up slowly.

"This Let's Play is called Clowder, and, as you can see, we’re in Achievement Farms once again! But it's been slightly modified to have taller fences. Rules are as followed: no stealing another players cats... Thats it. You need to tame ten Ocelots and have them in your area," Gavin explained to everyone. "And killing is allowed. Now, is everyone ready?"

The game started with no problems; Everyone was enjoying themselves, finding the simple task harder than expected. About 15 minutes in, Ryan was tired again, fighting off sleep as it crept up on him. By 20 minutes in, he was asleep and no one noticed. 

Lindsay was recording a behind the scenes. The newly transformed Red Husky was bouncing happily from person to person and nearly burst into howling laughter when she landed on Ryan. His controller was still held in his right hand on his lap, his left having fallen to his side. Looking slightly uncomfortable, his head was leaning mostly against his headphones that dug into his shoulder.

"Guys, guys. _Look_." She whispered, point at the snoozing man. Gavin was the first to look over.

"Are you flippin' _kidding_ me? Ryan's bloody gone and fallen asleep!" He stood up, wings stretched slightly as he leaned in next to Ryan's face. He was about to yell when Jack stopped him.

"What the fuck do you think you're doing? Feel his head first, check if he's sick. It's not like him to just fall asleep in the middle of a video, if at all."

Gavin furrowed his brow, frowning harshly before putting the back of his hand against him as directed. "Oh, bollocks, he's burning up."

"Let his sleep then, there's nothing we can do right now. Will wake him up after we're done and get him home." Geoff glanced over.

"He lives _four hours_ away, Geoffrey." Gavin's wings drooped.

"Then will take him to my place, put him in the guest bedroom, call his wife... Simple fix. And hey, hey! Don't turn off his capture, it'll be funny!"

Gavin had his hand on the mouse, about to turn it off. "What, why?"

"So we can cut to it and make fun of him later. The Mad king becomes the Nap King.”

\---

For the second time today, Ryan was being shaken awake, but this time with a little more urgency. "... Seriously, wake up Ryan."

At some point, someone must have moved him so that he was laying more comfortably, and had taken down his set up. Ray was currently standing over him, pushing his shoulder every few seconds. "Come on, it's time to get up. I get that you're sick and all, but Geoff wants to bring you to his place for a big, gay sleepover."

Ryan groaned the second he opened his eyes, covering his face with his arms. It was rather childish, but he didn't really care what Ray thought. The lights were to damn bright, and he is to damn loud, almost as if he were hungover.

"I've been trying to to wake you up for the past five minutes, I'm not stopping until you stand up."

"I don't think I _can_." He mumbles, face still covered. "How long was I out?"

"We finished the Let's Play not too long ago, I won the tower from you by the way. So maybe like... An hour? You had a fever, still kinda do, so that's why Geoff wants to get you out of here. Called your _esposa_ already and everything. Now, come on, up.” Ray pulled on his arm, lifting him slightly from the couch but let him drop with a huff.

Ryan uncovered his face. “Did you honestly think that would work? I want you to think it over in your mind, see the error of your- ow.” A sudden wave of pain hit the front of his head, like something trying to force its way out of his skull. “Grab my hand and pull in 3… 2… 1…”

“R and R connection!” Ray laughed as he helped him into a sitting position. “Ok, now let me go get Geoff.’

“Why didn't you get him in the first place?” Ryan rubbed his eyes, resting his elbows on his knees.

He processed to information. “In hindsight, that might have been the better option… But it doesn’t make it the best option.” Quickly, he slipped out of the door and out of the room.

“That makes no sense!- Ow.” This time it felt like an icepick was trying to crack his head open. A few moments later, a much bigger hand was gripping his shoulder.

“You look like shit.” Geoff smirked, not letting go.

“If we’re going to start describing appearances, you-“ Ryan started.

“Save it for when you’re not in a coma, lets worry about getting you to a bed for right now. Grab onto me, I’ll help you up, then you lean _all_ your weight on me, got it?”

“You got it, _dad_.” He joked, but took the directions seriously. Geoff pulled him up and quickly slung his arm around him, pulling Ryan’s around his neck. Without much of a choice, he leaned fully against his supporter without any regard if he could carry him or not. The memories are murky, but at some point he found himself laying across the back seats of Geoff’s truck, thrown ever so gracefully. 

“Just… Try not to fall back there, alright?”

“No promis- mother _fucker._ ” Ryan half-yelled. “My head feels like its on fire.”

“Just hold on for, like, five minutes. I’ll get you into a nice bed as soon as possible, ‘k?”

It was the longest five minutes of his life; Completely paralyzed from the splitting and burning pain of his head which was also shooting down his spine. Any movement beyond breathing only made it worse, and he could feel the moans coming out of his mouth as he did.

“Ok, ok, we’re here, we’re _holy shit_.” Geoff yanked the door open. “Uh, hey Ryan, buddy? How ya’ feelin’?” He was trying to stifle a laugh.

Ryan opened his eyes for the first time since getting in the car, looking at an upside-down Geoff. “Like my head is a pile of bricks. What are you trying to get at-“ He ran his hands through his hair and they hit hard nubs, the start of horns, right near floppy ears that have now replaced his human ones. He squeezed his eyes shut in realization. “Mother of God, I’m Edgar.”

“Let’s _moooooove_ you into the house. I’ll give everyone the update.” Geoff avoided a lazy punch, snapping a picture of the grumpy bull on his phone, tail and all.


	5. Ramsey

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Baaaaaaaa humbug.

Geoff is a loud guy; He’s not afraid to voice his opinion, holding nothing back and using every adjective in his vocabulary to get his point across. Thats why he’s one of the worst people to be around when he’s sick. He’ll never shut up, moping around like the world has to stop for him, gaining into excruciating detail about how he’s feeling.

It takes a lot to get him to be completely silent.

It started with a dull ache in his neck, nothing too serious, just enough to make him complain about his sleeping position. Two Advil later, thanks to his caring wife not wanting to put up with his bullshit, and he was good to go for work.

“A month and a half, can you believe it?” Gavin said, arm leaning out the window.

“The _fuck_ you talking ‘bout?” Geoff glanced over for a second before stopping at a red light.

“It’s been a month and a half since it happened, give or take. The wings and, I mean.” They shifted slightly behind him, like they were conscious that he was talking about them. “Soon, _everyone_ is going to have sprouted ears and whatnot, all because of the bloody moon. It’s pretty weird, how used to them I am.”

“I’m still human, ain’t I? That moonshine can’t change me.” The light changed and Geoff eased through the intersection.

“But how much longer do you think you’ll be human? It’s just you and Ray now that haven’t changed in the whole company.”

“I can’t really answer that, can I? Why all this so suddenly?” He pulled into the parking lot slowly, rolling into his spot.

“I.. I don't know… Like, is this all that’s in store for us, becoming animals? Or is there something we’re not prepared for?” Gavin was rubbing his hands together, a nervous twitch that he developed.

“Gavin… We’re still human, we’re not animals.” He cut the engine, but stayed in the car.

“Can we really say that?” He looked Geoff right in the eyes. “Can we really say that we’re still human?” Geoff opened his mouth, but couldn't form words that could help the situation. “Just forget it, we’re going to be late for work.”

Gavin was out of the truck in one swift motion, leaving nothing but a few fluffy feathers sticking to the seat. He thought about what his pseudo son had said, trying to make sense of it all, but drawing a blank. The more he thought about it, to more his head started to hurt.

—

In the office, Gavin acted like nothing happened, falling right into his normal routine of editing videos and bothering Michael. Unfortunately for Geoff, he couldn’t focus on his work at all between thinking about what the lad said and the growing ache spreading to his head.

“Geoff, have you been listening to me at all?” Jack smacked him playfully in the arm.

“W-what, oh uh, yeah. Run it by me again?”

“You’re a little quite today, you feeling ok?” A low laugh passed through his lips. “Haven’t heard you say more than one word before now, and it wash’t even a curse.”

“Yeah, it’s just… I got a lot on my mind, and not enough pain killers.”

“A late bloomer, I see!” A louder chuckle rumbled in his chest. “You should be home, if it’s really-“

“No, I just slept wrong.” Geoff said bluntly. “I’m still Geoff for a little while longer.”

“You’d still be Geoff, and I’m just saying-“

“You’re not saying anything… I need some air.” He stood up, wobbling ever so slightly before darting out of the room without another word.

“Someones _grouchy_.” Ray squeaked from his seat, watching the door. “Never seen him like that, what crawled up his ass and died?”

Geoff pushed the front doors a little harder than he needed to, making the hinge creak in protest. His breathing was elevated, blood rushing in his ears, and now the ache was starting to intensify. And for no real rhyme or reason, Geoff was _angry_. He was angry at Gavin for planting this seed in his brain, at Jack for jumping to conclusions, but more importantly at himself for letting it get to him.

So, without thinking, he punched the metal fence in front of him. It dented under his fist, shooting pain up his arm, and he quickly recoiled while spewing every curse under the sun. Inspecting his hand, though, there seemed to be no real damage done, nothing seemed broken.

It did nothing to stop the pain in his head, though.

“Holy _shit_ , Geoff.” He froze at the sound of a second voice. “You’re gonna fucking pay for that, you know?” Burnie, the coolheaded Bison, followed Geoff outside when he saw him leave without him knowing. “What, did Gavin-“

“He didn’t do anything, it’s just… I don’t _fucking_ know! The world is insane and everyone’s just accepting it! Griffon and Gavin are fucking _birds,_ Millie is sprouting horns, and I have to worry about a certain Jersey boy mauling and certain British prick!” Geoff huffed, facing Burnie now.

He didn’t shrink back from the yelling, letting Geoff nearly get in his face. “What else can we do?” He finally asked once he was quiet.

“How should _I_ know? You’re just like Gavin!”

“You’re stressed, I get that, we all are. I mean, we’re working with Lions, Tigers, and Bears for crying out loud.”

“ _Oh my_.” Geoff laughed, gripping his head as it pounded.

“See, there we go. A joke!” Burnie smiled. “But seriously, you’re acting just like I was; Freaking the fuck out. The world is fucked up now, might as well accept it.”

“Easier said than done.”

“Eventually, if you say it enough, you start to believe it. Now,” He pointed at his head. “You might want to go home now, before it gets worse.”

“What’s that-“ Realization hit him. “Now?! Fuck, am I at least something cool?” He ran his fingers through his hair, feeling the start of horns at his hairline

“Let’s just say you’re living up to your last name. Call me when their fully grown, I’ve been itching for someone to headbutt with ‘cause Ryan’s no fun.”

“I’M A FUCKING _RAM_?!” Burnie runs, cackling, before Geoff has a chance to chase after him.

“It doesn’t look that _baaaaaaa_ d, I swear!” He calls as he gets inside. “Go home already, I’m not letting you back in!”


	6. Raybit

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Hare comes in last place again.

Someone was pounding on Ray's door, startling him out if his sleep. Scrambling, he grabbed his glasses from the side table, reading the alarm clock that said 11:26am. For the first time in a while, Ray had a day off to sleep in and forget, for a day, that the world around him was nothing but fur, feathers, and scale.

That day was not today.

In nothing but a wife beater and boxers, he swings the door open with little regard for who's on the other side. "What the _fuck_ do you want, to punch a hole through my door?"

"That was my plan exactly, you've seen through my ruse." Tina laughed, the Labrador already walking inside. "I've been up since nine and I'm board as hell, thought I'd come bother you."

"How considerate of you, I'm touched." He closed the door behind her, redoing the lock. "I didn't know you changed, when'd that happen?” Walking into his room, he went through the pile of clothes on his floor to put on.

"Couple days ago, you were at work. I thought it was Mono or something, so I slept it off, but I woke up with all this." She plopped down on the couch, turning on the television. “You wouldn’t believe how hard it was to alter all my pants for this damn tail… Speaking of which, what gives with you?"

Ray was slipping on a pair of sweatpants, and peeked out of the doorway. "What'da you mean?"

"I'm pretty sure you're the last person in the _whole state_ that hasn't evolved. People probably stare at you like _you're_ the freak. Like, how long ago was Gavin's feathery surprise?"

"Coming up on 2 months now, a little less? I don't see the big deal though." He sat down next to her, moving her tail out of the way. "Besides, what if I'm some shitty, weak animal? I'd rather just never change, I like my ears where they are."

"But it's _exciting_." Tina passed him an Xbox controller, starting up Call of Duty. "Yeah, it's fucking terrifying and strange at first, not recognizing yourself or really knowing your body, but it's something new. And it's happening to everyone, so were all equal in that sense, we all understand what everyone went though when we look at each other."

"I get that, but it's still- it's... Weird." Ray hit start, joining the split screen game.

"Oh, what a way with words you have." She started the match, quickly shifting the conversation to a new topic. “You’re gonna eat my bullets, bitch. Your days are Day-done.”

“Really, a fucking pun? You’re dead to me.”

Tina got the first kill… And the second. Soon enough, Ray was down ten kills and ready to throw his controller through the screen. His eyes couldn’t keep up with the game, unable to process the information fast enough to make his move in time. Usually he was two steps ahead of her, but it seemed like he was three steps behind.

“And _BLAM_! Narvaez just got _obliterated_! Three time!” Tina threw the controller on the couch and jumped up, waging her tail and doing her rarely seen victory dance. “This is one for the history books, folks!”

“This is bullshit.” Ray tossed his controller next to him, pinching the bridge of his nose. “It was lagging.”

“We were playing on the same system! You’re just a sore loser because, for once, you _lost_.” She stuck a finger in his face, waggling it. “I think- Hey, whats wrong?”

“W-what? Why are you staring at me?” Tina had bent down and was now face to face with him.

“You looked sick before, but I just blamed it on you waking up at noon. You’re flushed, like, really red, and your eyes are bloodshot.” She smacked her hand against his head harshly. “And you’ve got a fever, you idiot! We’ve been playing for nearly an hour and you didn’t say a thing.”

“I feel fine, I didn’t even know-“

“That’s it, you,” She shoved him in the shoulder. “Get in bed, now. Rest.”

“But I wanna play my games.” He muttered. “And you’re not my mom.”

“Then lay on the couch! Just lay down already and let me get you some medicine. It doesn’t do much, but it helps.” Tina trotted into the bathroom, opening the cabinets to find them empty. “You’re shitting me, right? He have _nothing_ in here?”

“When I’m sick, I suck it up ‘cause it’s easier.” Ray spread himself across the cushion, starting up his Minecraft world to pass the time.

“Jesus Christ, how did you survive living on your own? Should I even bother going to the store to get you some, or would you even use it if you had any in the house?”

“I think you’d be wasting your money if you did that.” A zombie snuck up behind his character and killed him. “Ah, _fuck_.”

“I’m gonna get you some lunch then, if you’re even still awake when I get back.” Tina unlocked the front door and opened it. “Don’t have a party while I’m gone.”

“No promises.” Ray called back as the door clicked shut.

He stayed like that for a while, just idly playing with no real aim in mind. After being murdered by his tenth monster, he tossed the controller aside, the game was starting to give him a headache. Closing his eyes, nothing better to do, he waited for his friend to get back.

He woke up when the front door creaked open, jumping up from the sound.

“I’m back, I got some- OH MY GOD YOU’RE SO _CUTE_!” Tina nearly dropped the Chipotle bag in her hand.

“I can’t see, where are my glasses? And what are you talking about? And fuck my head hurts.”

“They’re on the floor, and you need to go to the bathroom _right now_.” She tossed the food lightly on the counter, ripping off her jacket and pulling out her phone.

Ray got up, grabbing his glasses, and rushed to the bathroom to his horror. “No! This is not fucking funny! A Rabbit, really?!” Holding his glasses up, he saw two long ears sticking out of the top of his head, flopped over in the mess of his hair.

“Let me get a picture, just hold still.” Her camera was pointed at him.

“NO!” He tossed his glasses into the sink and turned around to wrestle her phone from her hands.

“Got one! Oh, this is beautiful, just _beautiful_. Look at that face.” She turned her hand as best she could under his grip, showing him the grumpy picture of himself. “This is twitter worthy, don’t you think?”

Ray let go of her wrists, sighing. “I’m going back to bed.” Leaving his glasses, he pushed past Tina and went to his room.

“Do you have a tail too?! Please tell me you do!”

His bedroom door slammed closed and the lock clicked. “You’re not getting a picture of that!”


	7. Emergency Landing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> REWIND! A look back to when the guys took Gavin to work to have a company meeting.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I kinda skipped over this moment a little, and I also wanted an excuse to write Kerry and Miles because they are too funny ^w^

When the Achievement Hunters walked in leading a skittish looking Gavin, everyone knew something was wrong. Geoff had, very quickly and urgently, called him in sick just a few hours ago, and had taken all the guys to go see him for lunch.

He was wearing sweats that were five times his size, pulling at the collar like it was chocking him. When he walked, his whole body seemed to swing with him like he had no control over it.

Barbra saw them in the hall from her desk and quickly took off her headphones. "Oh, hey guys, I thought Gavin was sick." At the mention of his name, Gavin ducked behind Michael, who shook him off and whispered a few curses.

"Something... Happened. We need to have a company meeting, like, right _now_. Where's Matt, or Burnie? Anyone, really." Geoff was all business, which is what concerned Barbra the most.

"Matt's in his office, the door's open I think."

"Thanks, Barbs." He started walking towards the stairs. "Could you tell everyone to come to the studio near Ryan, if you can? Tell them it's an emergency. And you guys," He pointed at the five men. "Head over there and wait for everyone."

Nodding, Michael hooked Gavin's arm and started pulling him down the hall, gaining something that imitated a squawk from his victim. The others guys simply followed the two, not saying anything more that a mumbled acknowledgement of their orders.

Without even as much as a knock, Geoff pushed Matt's door open the rest of the way, finding him typing away at his keyboard. He glanced up, slightly confused. "Back so early, how was he?"

"He's here right now, and we have a _little bit_ of a problem.”

“What kind of a problem are we talking about?” Matt closed his program and stood up, walking around his desk to properly talk to him. “Is Gavin… _that_ sick?”

Geoff caught his drift, shaking his head. “Nothing like that, he’s not dying, I promise. It’s a little weirder than that.”

“Then what’s wrong with him, is it contagious?” He shrugged his shoulders, trying to pry any info from his friend

“That’s why we wanted to call a emergency company meeting, to tell everyone. Because, if Ryan’s right, everyone is going to need a warning.”

“He has Chlamydia, doesn’t he?” Matt half laughed.

“Just follow me, you won’t believe me even if i told you.”

—

Everyone that was here was now gathered by the green screen, waiting for Geoff to tell them why they were here. A few people raise an eyebrow at Gavin, who looked like he had seen a ghost, but didn’t say anything.

“So,” Geoff got everyones attention. “I know this is kinda last minute, but, uh, theres something that we’ve discovered. You may have noticed Gavin is here, and if not, you’re an idiot. Well… something’s happened to him, and we’re pretty sure that it’s gonna happen to everyone.”

“I don’t want to do this, Geoffrey. I can’t do this, it’s insane!” Gavin whined, sitting down on the ground.

“We have to, Gav.” Ryan kneeled down next to him. “Come on, take the hoodie off.” He grabbed at the shoulders, pulling it up much to Gavin’s protesting. He groaned a couple of times, fighting him, and his wings flapped in a panic and popped out the second the sweatshirt was off. They nearly smacked Ryan, making him jump back.

Everyone in the room was dead silent as they looked over the feathered masses sprawled out behind Gavin, both nearly as long as a his body. Gavin froze, unable to speak or move, watching the faces of all his friends judge him.

“They’re real, attached to his back, and move when he wants them to.” Geoff didn’t even need to explain what he was talking about. “This was the reason that he was sick this morning; He was in the process of growing those. And we think that, eventually, it’s going to happen to everyone.”

Ryan explained the theory they built about the moon and genes, not getting much of a reaction from anyone as they were too busy still looking at Gavin. No one was screaming or fainting, so he assumed they were ok with it all.

Lindsay finally broke everyones silence. “So… we’re all going to turn into birds?”

“That, we don’t know. We think it may be a different animal for everyone, but some people will be the same I guess.” Ryan answered.

“Did it hurt?” Kara asked the question on every mind.

The guys turned to Gavin causing him to flinch, wings flaring up unconsciously. He felt eyes on him from every direction. “Y-yeah, I guess. I mean, I was asleep for the most part, but it felt like my back was… Bursting open.” 

“Does anyone else find this to be fucking _awesome_?” Burnie finally admitted from the back of the crowd. “Like look, he has fucking wings growing outta his back! That’s fucking cool!”

People were getting excited now, totally blind to the fact that they should, just maybe, be worrying about it. Miles and Kerry ambushed Gavin, inspecting every inch of his wings they could touch while he tried to swat him away. They kept going on and on about how he would be the _perfect_ model to use for RWBY, already planning on using him for accurate motion capture for a bird faunus.

“Can you fly, have you tried? Try right now, do it, I want to see!” Miles started pulling Gavin up from the ground.

“Are you a freaking _lunatic_?” Gavin tried to pull away from him.

"You've got to try! Come on," he gripped his shoulder. "Imagine flying through the air, flapping your wings and defying all rules of gravity!"

Gavin grabbed at his hands, a futile effort. "I like gravity, I like being on the ground! 'Sides, I still feel awful, the last thing I need to do is pass out while I'm ten feet above the concrete floor."

"You put up a convincing argument... Kerry!" Miles turned to him.

"Yes, Miles?" Kerry met his gaze.

"Picture this for a minute, humor me. You have wings, yeah? Beautiful, luscious, boner-inducing wings. What do you do?” He crossed his arms, smirking.

“Am I the one getting the boner, or you?”

“Me, of course.”

“Oh, then I’d jack you off first, obviously. Then I’d go and take them for a test flight.” Kerry answered immediately. 

“Yes! So, Gavin, you have _plenty_ of space in here to spread your wings and take off. You’ve got the high ceiling, the rafters to perch on, things to attack, it’s a birds _dream_!”

“But I’m not a bloody bird, I’m a _human being_! I didn’t ask for this, so stop thinking I like it!” Gavin yelled, clearly upset. “Oh for God sakes, fine! Let me just flap these monstrosities and try and lift myself into the air!”

“Doitdoitdoitdoit!” Miles and Kerry chanted, moving back and shoving people to give him room.

Gavin looked at his wings with uncertainty. _‘Can I actually fly? Ryan said I might.’_ He thought as he took a couple of testing flaps, trying to get the position right. After a few seconds of awkward silence and waiting, he jumped and started pumping his wings hard, as fast as his body would allow.

He got about six feet off the ground before finally falling flat on his ass. Just the few moments in the air drained him out, and he couldn’t keep up with the pace for very long. Ray was at his side in a flash.

“Holy _shit_ , Vav. You can fucking fly.” He helped him up. “Oh and your sweatpants fell off.”

“What, no!” Gavin looked down in horror as the two long tails of feathers were exposed to everyone.

“Oh my god, you have a tail too?!” Burnie was overcome with laughter. “Oh Go, I take it back, I take it back! This is not awesome, it’s the greatest fucking thing to happen in the history of this company ever!”

Gavin was pulling the pants back on and grabbed the sweatshirt. “I’m going home, I don’t care if I have to _fucking_ walk.”

“Oh, watch the language!” Geoff followed him, camera on because he was recording the whole thing.


	8. Bouffalant

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Burnie's not in the mood to deal with any bisonshit.

Just a few days after Michael sprouted ears, Burnie started acting strange. He sulked around complaining about his head for a few minutes after getting inside, retreating to his office when he didn’t get much of a response.

At his desk, he tried focusing on his work as best he could with a splitting headache. Medicine did nothing at this point, but he had too much on his plate right now to take a sick day. With Gavin currently dealing with his plumage problem and Michael trying to murder him, Burnie was the one responsible for making sure this stayed quiet for the time being; Monitoring all the information that was sent from them and making sure none of it had anything to do with or mentions the incident. No one dared to try, but he was paranoid about anything getting out there. 

The internet wash’t much help either. All social media outlets were quiet, no mentions of anything similar to their problem anywhere. The only thing worth while was that there was a high demand for pain medication, and he only knew that because people were complaining about empty shelves. Burnie had just closed out his window when someone knocked lightly on his door. He groaned, “What do you want?”

“Not that grumpy attitude, I’ll tell you that.” Ashley pushed the door open, closing it behind her. “Ryan said you were crying about your head, I came to check up on you.”

He chewed his cheek slightly. “It’s probably nothing, I’m fine.”

She moved some papers off the corner of his desk away and sat down, putting her feet in his lap. “Stressing out over the new _additions_?”

He leaned back in his chair, trying to appear relaxed. “I’m worried about them. Like, what if this isn’t some epidemic, and it’s just some kind of isolated incident? This could be something really dangerous, and if anyone found out they might, I don’t know, lock them up or... Deport Gavin or-“ Burnie gripped neck, losing his cool. Ashley brought a finger to his lips to stop him.

“Relax, Babe, you’re overthinking it. ‘Sides, so what if it is? It’s still Gavin and Michael, we’d have to protect them both no matter what.”

“This is _serious_ , Ash. Gavin has turned into a fucking Lark and Michael’s chasing lasers, and you’re not going to worry about it? People are going to find out about it eventually too, everything we do finds it way onto the internet.”

“You were researching and cross-referencing birds?” She answered with another question. “Ok, back to the reason I came here in the first place. You were complaining about your head.”

“I complain about a lot of things, I can survive a little headache.” Burnie hissed, but she saw him wince slightly.

“Gavin complained about having a headache, you know." She hopped down from his desk. "And Geoff said he had a high fever, that he thought he had the flu or something because of the shape he was in. Let me feel your head.” She reached her hand out gently, but he smacked it away rather hard.

"No, I'm _fine_ , nothing's wrong with me!" The anger rose in him so quickly, instinctively and without warning. "Just... I'm sorry, but let me just get back to work, ok?” His voice was strained and low.

She stared at him, almost fearful for a moment, before walking around his desk. ”I hope you turn into a Donkey, because your acting like a real _ass_ right now, Michael." Ashley held her stinging hand, obviously upset, and crossed the room to the door. She yanked it open, gave him one last glare, and pulled it closed behind her with a harsh click.

She only called him Michael when she was really pissed at him, or when she was really concerned. Right now, he thinks she's both.

By the afternoon, Burnie wanted to ram his head through a wall, because he was pretty sure that doing that would hurt less than his skull does right now. At this point, his head was fully on his desk, having pushed his keyboard off to the side, and he made no sudden movements for the fear of any more pain. Sleep was not an option and Ashley wasn’t going to help him _now_ , so his only course of action was to wait it out and hope it gets better. Closing his eyes, he simply just enjoyed the quietness of his office the best he could.

Eventually someone knocked on the door, and after getting no response for a few seconds, opened the door slowly. He could hear their footsteps as they walked across his office and gasp slightly, and felt them next to him, but made no attempt to open his eyes or move until there was a hand on his forehead. His eyes flashed open, and he saw Barbra standing over him, recoiling her hand and averting her gaze.

“Sorry, didn’t mean to wake you! Ashley told me to come, and I quote, ‘check on that curly-haired asshole and see if he’s still alive.’” She laughed slightly. “You’re _Burnie-ing_ up. And-”

“That pun was fucking dumb, get out.” Burnie said slowly, but grumbled when his pain started to come back. “Oh God, what’s wrong with me?” 

“I think I have an idea… I’m gonna go get Ashley, she’ll want to take you home.” And just like that, she was gone. There was some high pitched squealing and running downstairs, and soon Ashley and Barbra were back.

“It’s not a Donkey, but oh is it _something_.” She shook her head, walking up next to him and rubbed his arm. “Does my little Bison want to go home and sleep?”

“You are you two smiling about?” He raised his head of the desk slightly, feeling something ruffle in his hair and scratches at it. When his hand wraps around a fluffy ear, he connects the dots. “What, no, _fuck_!” His other hand flies up and slams into a small horn bud, soliciting another curse out of him. “Oh, of course _I_ would be a fucking two-ton beast.”

“I think it’s cute.” She flicked one of his ears playfully. “Let’s bring you home now, the boys are gonna  _love_ this.”


	9. Howls

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gavin realizes he hasn't talked to Dan in a while.

Sitting shirtless on his bed, his laptop on his lap, Gavin open up mindlessly scrolled through comments on the newest Behind The Scenes to see what people were saying about Michael and him. There was some negativity, some people still uncomfortable with the whole ‘people are turning into animals’ thing, while some reacted better than he had expected. After about the fiftieth pun, he closed out the window with disgust and decided to open up Skype. It had been a while since he talked to or seen Dan, and that was before _it_ happened just two weeks ago.

He had to stop himself when his mouse hovered over Dan’s username, which signaled he was online. He never told Dan about _any_ of this, not even so much as a phone call or a text message. He’s not even sure that this epidemic has reached Britain yet, or if they even know about it. A new panic rose in Gavin’s chest, making his feathers stand on end.

Skype beeped and caught his attention again; Dan had sent him a message.

**hey, b! you havent been on in a while, ive barely talk to you. things here have been crazy.**

He stared at the message for a good minute, reading it over, before he typed a response.

_Yeah, sorry about that. Stuff has been a little hectic at work recently too._

Dan responded almost immediately.

**that sucks. wanna video chat?**

Gavin bit his lip, unsure about what he could say to excuse himself from it. He wants to talk to his best friend more than _anything_ , but how is he going to react to the ugly things sticking out of his back? Any logical person would never talk to him again, but his coworkers are crazy and don’t seem to care. Dan _is_ a logical person, which is why he’s freaking out over what seems to be nothing. Best friends don’t care what happens to the other, as long as they’re ok, right?

_Sure._

Gavin held his breath waiting for a reaction.

**i should probably tell you something first. i look a little different, dont get upset, please?**

_So do I, so it will be even._

**alright, ill call you.**

He was a little worried now. Dan would never mention something like that unless it was big, like an injury or something of that nature. Although, he didn’t get much of a chance to think about it because his computer stared ringing. After three rings, Gavin hit accept and ducked out of view of the camera.

Dan’s voice was a relief to hear. “Hey- where are ya’?”

“Puttin’ on a shirt hold on.” Gavin grabbed one of the shirts Griffon altered for him to have a open back for his wings. He yanked it on quickly, catching on a few feathers painfully as the puffed through which made him squawk slightly. He’ll need to fix that later.

“You alright? Don’t fall over and break that big schnoz of yours.” A barking laugh echoed through the small room. “So… Has anything happened in Austin lately, anything… Weird?”

Gavin froze. “Why do ya’ ask?”

“Things have gotten a little bizarre over here, to say the least. And will you bloody get on the camera already, I’m sick of looking at your dingy pillow!”

“Sorry, sorry.” Gulping, he crawled onto the bed in front of his computer and nearly burst out laughing. “Oh, gosh, I was worried over nothing!”

Dan was sat in his computer chair, staring at the desktop screen. A set of extremely furry black ears stuck out the top of his head, pressed against his skull with embarrassment. Gavin could also see a long canine sticking out of his mouth as he bit his lip. “And here I was worried that you would get scared, but it seems like you’re in the same situation.” A mischievous grin slid onto his face. “You know, my kin have been known to eat birds on some occasions.”

Gavin’s wings unraveled and his feathers fluffed up, even the small ones on his chest and in his hair. The reaction must have been priceless, because Dan was the one laughing now as he watched the flustered Avian try to press them all back down. “You know how long I’ll have to preen to fix all these, flippin’ forever! Thanks, b.” Gavin grumbled as he recomposed himself.

“How long ago did it happen?” Dan asked, the last of his giggles fading off.

“Two weeks ago to the day I think. Everyone thinks I’m the first case in America.”

“Really? This happened yesterday, and if bloody hurt! The only sleep I got was probably when I passed out at some point from the pain. Woke up with the tail and everything.” He scratched his nose, a habit of his. “I don’t think anyone else around here has changed, but a whole bunch of people in London did and almost started a riot.”

“Holy crap, anyone hurt?”

“Nah, it was over pretty quick. But it did turn a few heads and sparked a lot of news coverage… Do you know why this is happening?”

“Yeah, uh, Ryan has a theory.” Gavin explained the reverse werewolf idea, watching as Dan’s ears flicked involuntarily as he listened and pulling his knees up to rest his chin on. It was unusually comfortable for the two of them, easily forgetting about anything relating to their new features. They laughed just like they used to, talked about the same things they always had, and even played the same games together.

That’s when Gavin truly realized nothing had actually changed about the two of them.  So what if Gavin could fly, or that Dan could hear every noise in the room? They still were mostly the same on the inside.

“Hey, Dan?” Gavin leaned in closer to the screen.

“Yeah, Gav?” Dan’s sharp smile was threatening anymore, it seemed gentle now.

“Thanks for not freaking out, and for being my friends.” He mumbled, barely louder than a whisper, but he knew Dan could hear him. “I really need this, talking to you.”

He seemed taken back by his sudden attitude change. “Oh, no problem, mate… By the way, what time is it there, it’s ten here.”

Gavin checked the clock, not realizing how late he had stayed up. “Shit, it’s four in the morning. I have to be up for work in, like, two hours.”

“Crap, go to bed! I’ll text you later.”

“Fine.” He grumbled. “Bye, Dan.”

“Do you sleep perched up like birds do, or do you lay down on your stomach?” He laughed again, watching Gavin frown harshly.

“ _Bye, Daniel_.” Gavin hovered over the end button.

“Good night, Gav.” At that, both of them hung up.


	10. Tail Me What You Think

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Michael don't like it when Lindsay scares him like that.

Lindsay walked into her and Michael's apartment with caution. On the other side of the door she could clearly hear every curse that flew out of his mouth and assumingly at the game he was playing. When she found him in the living room he was sitting on their coffee table, eyes blown wide and tail curling around behind him.

"What'cha playin'?" She asked quietly, watching him rapidly mash the A button to skip a cut scene.

"Tryin' to get an achievement in GT- _AHHHH_ YOU MOTHER FUCKER! I so had that, that's bullshit!" He suddenly was on his feet, still on the table, in one quick motion. Ever since his transformation, he has become much more agile and quick on his feet. "Fucking stunt jumps."

"Sit back down, you big baby." Lindsay sat down on the couch behind him, and he jumped down and joined her. Affection was never Michael's thing, but he leaned his head against her as he continued playing. Looking down, she giggled.

"What're you laughing at?" He stole another car in game.

"When's the last time you shaved?" She poked at the scruff on his face, making him  scowl.

"I don't know, a few days ago? I'm a lazy shit, that's my excuse."

"I'm only saying something because," she pulled at a slightly longer hair on his face. "I think you're getting a few whiskers." 

" _What_?!" Michael slammed the control on the couch as he sprinted to the bathroom to look. "No, no this can't be real!" He inspected both sides of his face, finding a few on each side and even some in his mustache.

Lindsay was laughing behind him as he looked with disgust. "Oh, this is amazing, whiskers! How big would they get if you grew them, do you think?”

"This is not funny!" He whined as he grabbed his razor from the medicine cabinet. "I'm gonna shave my face _twice_ everyday if it means I never have to see these fuckers."

"Ok, Mister Grumpy Cat, you do that. I'm gonna go take a nap, I'm not feeling my best. Try not to do too much damage to your face.”

"Alright, by the time you get up I'll will have the face of a baby's ass and still no achievement." He spread shaving cream over the stubble. "Do cats have really sensitive skin? Is this going to make me break out?"

"I think you'll be fine." She half-closed the door for him and went down the hall to there bedroom, kicking off her shoes before falling onto the bed and curling up under the covers.

Once all the offending hair was removed, Michael went back to his game which was still paused. Taking the remote, he turned the volume down to zero and then took his spot back on the table. He played for about two more hours, trying his best to be quiet as he could to let her sleep.

After failing the same jump for the twentieth time, feeling the rage bubbling in his chest, he quickly saved and turned off the game before he would do something he would regret later. With a huff, he mover to the couch and turned on the regular television and watched whatever was on, which was some dumb news station covering the same old stories.

He heard the door to their room creak open, and Lindsay walked in yawning. "Wow, my head hurts, do we have any aspirin in the house?"

"Yeah, in the bathroom, top of the cabinet on the left." Michael didn't look up. “I don’t think we have a lot though, we may need to buy more soon.”

“Alright, thanks." She mumbled sleepily, and turned around to go back to the bathroom to find it.

That's when Michael heard a bloodcurdling scream that left a ringing in his ears. He leapt from the couch so fast, clearing over the table in the process, and nearly slipped on the floor scurrying to the source. He stopped at the bathroom door to see Lindsay covering her mouth.

"Michael, I'm adorable! Lookit, oh my gosh! I’m a _dog_!” She was jumping up and down in front of the mirror, two red Husky ears bouncing on the top of her head.

Michael let out the breath he didn't realize he was holding and leaned against the door frame. "You scared me to death, _never_ scream like that again.” He stood there watching her inspect the ears and flopping them around, getting every angle.

"You've got nine lives, it's _fine_." She smiled, a few sharper teeth now showing. "And look, the tail too!" She turned around and showed him the fluffy mass sticking out of hear waistband, wagging it madly with excitement. "It _moves_! Swishswishswish!”

His soon-to-be wife was glowing, and he smiled back at her as he pulled her into a hug. "Yeah, it's cute, I love it."

"As much as you love me?" He could feel her hand twirling around his tail.

"I love you more, but it's a close second. It’s currently beating Gavin and his feathery ass.” He laughed into her hair.

"Do you think the fans will change the name of Juggey to CatDog?” She asked into his shoulder.

"They fucking better." He released her from his tight grip to hold her face and kiss her twice; Once on the lips, and once on the cheek.


	11. Cockbite

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> People seem to know more than Matt does.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you haven't already, I would really appreciate it if you followed me on tumblr! [It's right here!](http://geoffgayzerramsey.tumblr.com/)

Matt was in the middle of a phone meeting when his back started bothering him. He pushed through it, not wanting the pain to keep him from getting work done.

After it was over, he went next door to his office to talk to Burnie.

“Oh, Matt! Just the guy I was looking for.” The Bison hybrid greeted him as he walked in. “We got a phone call from some dudes looking to do business with us for RTX, so I said we would get back to them. I’ll give you the full brief later so you can call them.”

“Great, great. Listen,” He leaned against his friends desk. “The whole animal thing… How are the fans reacting, do you know? Is it affecting popularity at all?”

He pulls up something on his computer. “I was checking the numbers for that actually, and it looks like nothing has changed. Gavin said the comments were mostly positive on the videos, too, so for the most part it seems like they don’t care.” 

“That’s a relief, I guess.” He cringes as his back stings in pain. “Do you have anything I can take for back pain?”

He eyes him suspiciously, but opens the bottom drawer of his desk. “Yeah, I got something in here somewhere. You ok?” He pulls out a bottle and hands it to him.

Matt nods. “Fine, my back is just acting up. I probably pulled a muscle or slept wrong.”

“If you say so. From my knowledge and _experience_ ,” I taps the horns on his head and wiggles his ears. “Any pain or illness around here means that somethings gonna happen in the next few hours. Maybe you should go home, being at work when it happens sucks because trying to get out of here was a nightmare! Barbra kept saying ‘Bye son, bye son!’ and waving as I left.”

“That sounds like Barb.” He pops two pills in his mouth and swallows them dry. “I hope she turns into something extremely Canadian so we can ridicule her _everyday_. Now, what brief were you talking about, I can give them a call right now while I have the chance.”

“Oh, here,” Burnie grabbed a folder on his desk. “The sent us a few documents and I took a few notes, you can go through that and figure it out. Make sure you tell Gus about your decision.”

“Will do. And thanks for the meds.”

“No problem, but if you sprout something in the next few hours, don’t come crying to me. I’m warning you now.”

“Thanks, I’ll keep that in mind.” He grabbed the folder from him. “And _no_ head butting Ryan inside, ok? I had people complaining to me that they though someone fired a gun. Go outside and do it there, like normal people.”

“I’ll have you know I’ve got him beat three to one. It’s like he’s not even trying.”

“Outside.” Matt pointed sternly at Burnie, smiling, and left his office. His back was still bothering him though.

\---

Once the call was over and the arrangement was made, Matt went to put the paperwork on Gus’ desk.

“Got some exhibitor info you might want.” He waved the folder in the air.

“Fucking _Christ_ , man! There’s so much fucking work Barb and I need to do for RTX, thanks for more!” Gus threw his arms in the air, defeated. 

“Hey, those are good people, and they’ll draw in a good crowd I think.” He put the folder on top of the small pile forming on the desk. “Any news around the office lately?”

“Besides all the animal bullshit, no. Lindsay is the newest one to fall victim to it, and the number of people in Austin that have reported it has tripled in the last two days. Monty called in sick today, which he never does, so I have ten bucks saying he walks in tomorrow with a tail.”

Matt scratched at his back uncomfortably. “An optimist, I see.”

“With all the shit that’s going on, I’m the biggest fucking optimist.” Gus goes back to the work on his computer, but quickly looked back to . “And you look like hell, what’s wrong with you? Go home.”

“I feel fine, just some back pain.”

“Yeah, go home.” He turned back to his computer and ignored any argument Matt had.

He started heading back to his office when Gavin, who had been talking to Emily, came up to him. “Hello, Matty boy!”

“Hi, Gavin. What are you doing up here?”

“Burnie needed me for something, and he told me your back’s being pissy.” He grinned eagerly, as always. “You feeling ok?”

“I’m just a little off, but I’m alright.” He tried to get around him, but he stepped in his way.

Gavin grabbed him by the shoulders and spun him around, then felt at his back. Despite at his protesting, he didn’t stop his prodding and poked around his shoulder blades. “Does this hurt?” He rubbed a hard circle into his muscle, making him yelp.

“Yes, that _fucking_ hurt, let go!” He shrugged him off and turned back around. “What did you just do?”

“You’re still in the early phases of it, but I think you’re growin’ wings.” He backed away, pouting. “I was doing to research online after I changed, and found some people who documented what other people went through when they turned into birds. Some people with large wings, like mine, went through the same kinda deal I did, but people with smaller wings were different. They had tender spots on their backs and complained of aching, then _poof,_ wings.” 

Matt just stared at the Lark in front of him. He doesn’t know if he should trust him or not, but his gut tells him to. “Alright, how small are we talkin’?”

“Like, under a 10-foot wingspan.”

“That’s considered small?! That’s still fucking huge!” He laughed, making Gavin smile. “Fine, I should go home then, right?”

“Oh yeah, when those puppies come threw, your not gonna wanna move for a few hours. Take plenty of pain killers.” He explained. “Text us a photo of what they look like when you get them!”

“That will be the _first_ thing on my mind.” He quickly went to his office, grabbed his things.

Later that night, while Gavin was having a few drinks with Michael, his phone buzzed. He glanced at it, burst out laughing at the colorful plumage behind the very disgruntled face of the CEO. “Michael, Michael look! Matt’s a _cock_!”

Immediately after the photo, Matt texted again as if he read his mind. ‘ _I’m not a cock, I’m a Rooster. Don’t get any ideas._ ’


	12. Fright Flight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gavin freaks out and takes off.

“Is Geoff ever going to come back from lunch? He’s been gone for over an hour.” Michael groaned, head on his desk as he swatted at a few feathers that accidentally got in his face thanks to his winged companion next to him.

Jack was editing a Things To Do and didn’t bother turning around, his tail swishing though the gap in his chair. “He texted me about that. He got a call from the Nurse at Millie’s school, she went in with a nasty headache and the next thing they know she’s got little horns on her head. He had to go get her and bring her home.”

“So he’s gonna be the last one in the house to change, huh? Griffon got wings a few days ago.”

That caught Gavin’s attention, making him pull his headphones fully off. “I was home when that happened! She fainted just like I did, I thought Geoff was going to have a heart attack.” He opened his wings slightly without thinking, smacking Michael in the face again.

“Would you _fucking_ stop that, already?! That’s the fifth time today, don’t you know how big those things are?!” He shoved it back at Gavin, making him yelp and spread them again. In a flurry of feathers and yelling, the two were racing out of the room.

“Michael! Michael, _no_ , I’m sorry!” Gavin screeched as he pushed the front door open, the feline hot on his tail feathers. “You don’t understand, they just _do_ that sometimes- Jesus!”

Michael leapt forward, nearly tackling him to the ground but he narrowly dodged it. He caught his footing and kept chasing him. “Come here you fuck, I’m gonna show you what it feels like to be hit in the face!” Without thinking, because he was scared out of his mind, Gavin started flapping his wings. 

He had practiced flying late at night once while the Ramsey’s were asleep and he had nothing to do. He fell a lot, like the first time he did at the office, but he didn't let it stop him. He figured out how to maintain altitude on his tenth try, hovering above the ground for a few seconds before landing successfully, which he learned on the twentieth try. There was a _lot_ of crash-landings at first…

The running start helped Gavin get started, catching the wind and using it for takeoff. Kicking off the ground, he started pumping a little harder to get more height and out of Michael’s reach.

“That’s not…!” Michael hissed but slowed down his run as he watched Gavin fly higher. He had never seen him fly beside the first day, if that even really counted. But right now he was _really_ flying. “ _Woah_.”

It was nice to fully extend his wings for once at work, since he usually had to keep them tucked up while he worked. Flying is the one real chance he has to relieve the pressure he feels building up, which is why he often involuntarily opens them without thinking and getting himself in these kinds of situations. But with the wind ruffling his hair, he closed his eyes and seemed to forget the whole reason he was out here for.

Michael just watched as he flew circles in the air above him, easily reaching the roof of the building. “Gavin! You gotta get down eventually, we have to work!”

Gavin opened his eyes and looked down and the tiny cat below. “Oh, sorry! Hold on!”

“Gavin, _wait_!” He yelled in a panic as he took a nose dive. He glided straight to the surface in front of him, gaining speed, and Michael was sure he was going to see his friend crack his head open on the pavement. A few feet before the ground, Gavin swooped back up and beat his wings to slow himself down and gently lower himself to the surface, blasting Michael with wind.

“Are you still mad, are you going to kill me?” He rubbed his hands nervously in front of him, waiting for Michael to make a move. He still had his wings fully extended, fluttering them every few seconds like he was going to take off again.

“…No, I’m not mad. Just keep those things to yourself while we’re in that small room, I don’t need a black eye because you’re itching to fly around.” Michael huffed, crossing his arms.

A smile returned to his goofy face. “Flyin’ in so much fun, Mikey! I wish you could do it with me, you’d love it.”

Just then, Geoff’s truck pulled up into the parking lot and he eyed them suspiciously from inside the car. Once he got out, he sauntered up to them. “What are you two idiots doing outside?”

“I _flew_ , Geoffrey! I was all the way up there,” He pointed at the roof. “And I landed it without skidding on my face! Oh, and hows my Millie?” His giddy giggles came out sounding like small chirps.

“She’s fine, just sleeping right now.” Geoff was tired, his day had not been the best, but he smiled when he saw how proud Gavin was of himself. His eyes shined with pride that he hadn’t seen in a while. “When’d ya’ learn how to do that?”

Gavin shrunk down slightly, finally folding his wings back up. “I may have stayed up late and jumped out of the tree in the back yard a _few_ times…”

“Was that what I heard at three in the morning on Saturday?” He gave the Brit a stern but gentle glare.

“Possibly.” He gave a sheepish grin.

“Has Michael killed Gavin yet?” Jack came walking up to them, followed closely by Ryan, who scratched at his horns, and Ray. “You guys need to clean up the office, you spilt Redbull and left some feathers behind.”

“We’ll get right on that, sorry Jack.” Gavin laughed. “But did you see me in the air?”

“You’re never gonna shut up about it are you?” Geoff shoved him playfully by the shoulder.

“Nope! I’m gonna fly every day, it’s a _bloody_ rush. I can’t wait until Griffon’s ready to fly, oh gosh, that will be the best day ever. I’ll teach her and everything!” Gavin shook with excitement.

“I wanna see you fly!” Ray shoved past Jack and grabbed him. “Show us again!”

Gavin smirked, flaring out his wings and nearly knocking them all onto their asses. “No problem.”


	13. Business

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Joel isn't amused with any of this.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If this chapter sucks, I blame a [CERTAIN SOMEBODY](http://starexorcist.tumblr.com/) for being a big, distracting butt. <3

“I don’t want to- _No_ , stop it.” Joel ordered into the microphone while the bear next to him laughed. “No, Adam, stop- I said- What are you doing? Don’t do that.”

“Why, Joel?” He clicked the X button to open the the door in front of them and his face immediately dropped. “Oh God, what was that?”

They both stared at the screen as the eerie music began playing, seeing the smallest amount of movement in the dark room before them. Adam moved them forward cautiously, muttering incoherent words to himself. The second they stepped into the room, they both erupted into screams as a hand pierced through the dark and grabbed them, ripping the characters throat out.

“What the fuck was _that_?!” Adam half laughed, half roared. “Joel, he just… _How_?!”

“I didn’t want to go in there, I told you. Do you understand the concept of ‘Joel is going to stain his pants if we go in that room’ or do you just like to kill us?”

“How was I supposed to know that would happen? We need to go through there to finish the game!” He poked at the screen.

Joel just stood up, rubbing his eyes and rumpled his hair. “No, I’m done. Thats the end of the game, that right there. You wake up in a bed and the dude is all like, ‘ _What an insane nightmare, I’m fucking crazy,_ ’ and goes back to bed. The end.” He used a girly voice as he pushed the mouse away. “Besides, I’m not feeling good, lets call it a day on this.”

“Fine, ya’ big baby-“

“You were screaming too, Yogi!” Joel cut him off, holding back his laughter.

“I’ll have you know that I find that nickname offensive, and you should stop the bullying.” Adam pouted melodramatically, but it quickly shifted to a smirk. “But yeah, I’ll end it here. I don’t think we were gonna survive much longer anyway. Go home if you want.”

“Nah, I gotta be in the podcast today, so I have to stick around until fuckin’ _seven_ for that.” His eyebrows knitted in annoyance. “Fuckin’ _something_ or another, and that other bullshit too.”

"Wow, that was a _great_ explanation, really insightful." He sneered, grabbing the discarded mouse and closing out the game. "If you don't want to, tell Gus and he can replace you with someone else."

Joel groaned, throwing a small hissy fit. "I can't, I'm already the replacement for Barbra, and I'm a last resort! They need me so I have to go."

Adam backed off. "Fine, just a suggestion. Take something because the last thing he'll want deal with is a grumpy wittle Joel." He cooed, reaching up to pinch a cheek and earning a punch in the arm.

\---

Once Joel was sitting on the podcast set and had a few beers in him, he was feeling much better. He couldn't figure out if his head hurt from illness, or if it was swimming from the alcohol pumping through his veins.

But around halfway through the stream, a sharp pain ripped though his head, bouncing from the base of his skull to the front of his forehead. Instinctively, both hands threw up from his lap and tried to sooth the ache.

Gavin noticed. "Hey, Joel, you ok?" There was no hint of malice in his voice.

He turned to see his face, and he looked genuinely concerned. "Yeah, yeah, fine. I'm just gonna... Go to bathroom."

"Really Joel, fucking now?!" Gus exclaimed. "Every God damn time you're on here, you get up in the middle of it to piss!"

"Just let him go, Gus, it's not a big deal." Gavin defended him, but Joel was already up and heading out the studio door.

Once in the privacy of the bathroom, he flipped his shit. His stomach was churning and his head was definitely spinning from the headache now, the two of them making a dangerous mix that ended up in the closest toilet. It solved one problem, but his head was another story.

He sat there on the tiled floor for a few minutes, leaning against the wall to feel just even the slightest amount of cold on his skin. Had Joel realized he was _this_ sick, he would have rather felt Gus’ wrath than to be on the probably uncleaned floor of the Annex bathroom.

The door creaked open a crack and Kara’s voice rang out. “Joel, you in here? You’ve been gone a while, we need you back on the set.” When he didn’t answer right away, her tiny shoes clacked again the tiles. “Joe- _oh my God_.”

“Yeah, it’s not the best look I’ve rocked before.” He grabbed the toilet handle and flushed it, looking up at her. “It’s what fame does to ya’, kid.”

She started smiling, trotting over to help him up. “That’s not what I’m talking about, look in the mirror. Oh gosh, Barbra is going to be so _pissed_ that she missed this.” She pulled Joel’s arm as he pushed off the floor and lead him over to the sink.

One look and he just sighed, defeated. “What kinda fucked up animal is _that_ supposed to be?” He was referring to the new round fluff balls on his head that were meant to be ears.

“I believe those belong to a ferret.”

—

Burnie burst out laughing the second he caught sight of Joel, his face turning red and tail swishing madly. “Fuck, oh _Jesus_! Oh _God_ , get back on the camera!”

“Why is everyone around me turning into _fucking animals_?!” Gus had completely given up at this point at having a normal podcast. “Welcome to the Rooster Teeth Zoo Podcast, everyone. Meet Joel Ferret-man.”

Slouching, Joel walked back onto the set and sunk down into his seat on the couch. “I don’t want to hear anything you have to say.”

“Hey, Joel.” Burnie finally calmed down. “You should start a small _business_.” Giggles started escaping out of him.

“Stop it.”

“Oh, I should just _ferret_ go.” He continued snickering.

“Glad to know that with Barb gone, we still have plenty of puns to go around.” Joel pouted.

They had Gus laughing now. “Don’t worry, I’ll get you a bigger cage soon.”


	14. Preening

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gavin can't reach those feathers.

Gavin enjoys being an animal far more than any of the other Achievement Hunters combined, besides maybe Jack or Michael, but it did have its downsides. Adjusting his new life had been the hardest obstacle, and the same could be said about the other men, but being a bird made it much harder than simply shedding or making dietary changes.

First, the Lark had to deal with _molting_ , the lengthy and itchy process that he hated more than anything. When it started, it was like waking up to a pillow explosion every single morning. Feathers were just _everywhere_ , sticking out of his hair and in the sheets, not to mention embedded into his clothes or wedged into the rug. As pin feathers tried to grow in, his skin prickled and crawled with uneasiness of wanting to tear it apart. It got so bad at one point that Geoff had to hold him down to keep him from touching them after he plucked a few and started to bleed. The Ram wasn't happy when he had to deal with cleaning him up after that.

_Then_ he had to deal with sheaths that formed around each feather. They're basically just annoying toothpicks around new feathers which stuck on him and poked at his skin when he folded up his wings. Fortunately, he was allowed to pick at these after some time had passed, allowing the feather to fully grow back in, but it still was annoying as hell. After that came the part that annoyed Gavin less: Preening.

Gavin would spend _hours_ preening his feathers on his bed sometimes, getting lost in the repetitive process. He had to learn how to be quick and efficient at finding feathers that were out of place, and became aware of just how hard getting everything would be. When he is molting, all his focus is on the nagging, itchy spots and sheaths that he had his eyes on, rushing to get his fingers at them to fix every offending feather. Finding the bothersome plumage was like a blessing, never hesitating to tweak it back into place and chirping in content, but it was also a curse. Sometimes the one he was looking for was at the base of his wing, a spot that he can't reach.

He clawed desperately at his back, like it would pull it closer. "Griffon! Griffon, are you home?" Waiting, Gavin got no response, being too far from the main house for her to hear him. Carefully, he slid himself off of his bed while avoiding the circle of old sheathes, feathers, and dirt that had encompassed him from the past hours of work.

Gavin enters the Ramsey's back door, calling out again. "Griff, where are you!?"

"What do you need, Honey? Is it an emergency?” He heard her shout from upstairs.

“ _Yes_ , I can't reach this one spot on my back. I need you to get it for me before I go mental!" Squirming around, he tried getting it again but to no avail.

"Alright, hold on a second." Gliding down the staircase, she met Gavin at the back door while stretching her black wings slightly. "What does the little hatchling need me to do?” She cooed.

Gavin pouted at the nickname, but turned around and draped his wings over his arms to reveal his back. “I tried but I can't reach 'em, can you get them all to lay flat? I can't _stand_ it anymore.” He practically begged.

She giggled, inspecting the small feathers with her motherly eyes. "Of course, grab that chair in the kitchen and bring it out into the living room. You know the drill."

Not needing to be told twice, Gavin dashed through the house and grabbed the folding chair in the corner of the kitchen. In a matter of seconds, he had it propped up in front of Griffon’s usual spot and was straddling it with his wings spread. He rested his head in his arms, which he crossed along the top, and waited impatiently for her.

"I wish I could time you when you do this, I swear you get faster every time." She ruffled his disheveled hair, plopping down on the cushion, then got to work on his wings.

Griffon is much better at preening than Gavin is, her slender fingers and years of woodwork giving her an advantage. Her hands combed through his feathers like _silk_ , adjusting one after another and washing him in a flood of contentment. Her movements are much more exact then his were, and he wished she could do it all for him.

By the time she fixed the last feather she was laughing, and Gavin raised his head in confusion. "What you laughin' for?" He looked over his shoulder.

She composed herself enough to speak. ”You were _tweeting_. The whole time you were making the cutest sound-" 

Gavin looked mortified, like he had just seen a ghost. "Thank you so much Griff, but I've got to get going!" He quickly got up and gathered the chair. 

"Don't be embarrassed, I liked it!" She grinned, trying to stop him. "It's not like it was even something bad, it was just a song. Birds do it all the time!"

The song part was something he did _not_ ask for when he got his wings. Singing in private was one thing, like when he was in the shower or playing games, but doing it in front of someone else is different _even if_ they are a bird too. To Gavin, it’s a very intimate thing. “No, I really should be leaving! Michael wants me to, uh, you know... Go and- _Bye_!" He bolted, dropping the chair and nearly crashing into the wall on the way out.

Griffon just laughed after he was gone. "The songbirds are singing."


	15. Bad Hare Day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ray doesn't want to go to work, not today.

The first day back at work had been rough for Ray. The picture of him that Tina posted went viral, and pretty soon everyone at the office knew about his long ears. He purposely decided to wear a beanie, yanking it as far onto his head as it would allow, to flatten them and hide his glasses rig. They stuck out slightly in the back, and it was extremely uncomfortable, but he tucked them in and sucked it up.

He walked very slowly to work, looking at the few other hybrids that were out at this time. It is hard to imagine a time now where people didn't have tails or horns, even though it wasn't very long ago when that was the reality. There was a what looked like a Monkey hybrid rushing to his car to get to work with a banana in his hand, two little twin girls playing in the yard trying out their wings, even a dog hybrid taking his dog for a walk and this was now considered completely normal. But here Ray was, trying the cover up his ears like they were something to be ashamed of.

No one was sitting at the receptionist desk when he walked in so he quickly slipped into the Achievement Hunter office unseen. With a sigh of relief, alone in the small room, he sat down at his desk and started up his computer.  

"Sup, Ray." Michael pushed the door open, making him jump with a harsh gasp. "Didn't mean to scare ya', sorry... I saw that photo from the other day."

" _Everyone_ has." He said curtly, pulling the hat on a little tighter.

He stood uncomfortably in front of him. "So... What's with the beanie?"

"I wear beanies now." His nose twitched slightly without his control.

"Aren't you gonna let us see 'em?" Michael crawled into his chair, turning it to face his friend currently giving him the cold shoulder. “I mean, I hid mine at first but everyone saw them anyway, it was no big deal.”

Ray scrunched his nose. “No offense, but mine are a _little_ bigger than yours. Besides, there’s nothing to show, it just some floppy ears and I don't feel like taking my hat off." That was a lie, he was dying to rip it off and give his ears a break from the torture but his embarrassment over them was winning the fight.

The cat scowled at him, one pointy ear flicking. "You know what sound a Rabbit makes?"

Ray gave him a wary eye. "I have a feeling you're going to insult me."

"It always sounded like 'puss puss' to me." He bit his lip, the corners of his mouth turned upward. "You're a puss puss."

"I'm pretty sure that I’m _looking_ at a pussy." Ray flattened his mouth and shrugged. "I don't know it anyone's told you this, but you're a cat."

"Do you think I haven't heard that joke before? Ha ha, so funny." Michael snarled, flipping him the finger before starting up his own computer. As if on cue, Geoff walked through the door followed by a disheveled looking bird who needed more sleep.

“What’s up, lads?” He gave them a cheeky smirk. “I heard the last of the team hit puberty this weekend, am I right?”

Michael laughed. “Yeah, but he’s being a little punk bitch and wont let us see. He’s a pussy.”

“I’m almost positive-“ Geoff started.

“Already made that joke.” Ray blurted out, making his boss curse to himself. “And to clarify, I’m _not_ being a little punk bitch, I just wanted to wear a hat today.”

“Yeah, on the first day of work as a hybrid, that’s not suspicious at all.” Gavin yawned, stretching his back and wings slightly.

“At least I didn’t pass out.” That jab was regretted as soon as it left Ray’s lips.

“Yeah, well _you_ try gainin’ two human-sized wings on your back then come talk to me about it. Not my bloody fault.” The insult had piqued him, so he sat down rather quickly and whirled his computer to life. “I bet your ears look _stupid_ , anyway.”

That felt like a kick right into his chest, making Ray feel even more self-conscious and hold the edge of the beanie. It _shouldn’t_ have bothered him, but he could feel the blood rush to his cheeks and his eyes start to sting. Geoff noticed, quickly smacking Gavin upside the head. “Uncalled for, dude.”

“Ay, the newest addition is here!” Jack strolled in, oblivious to anything that had happened in the room before. “Are you gonna’ show them off? You should be happy!” He threw his stuff into his chair and joined the circle that was forming around Ray.

“No, nobody is going to see them.” 

“What are we not seeing?” Ryan finally arrived. “Oh, Ray, congrats on the ears. It was about time you joined the animal club.”

“He’s being a baby and wont take off his hat.” Geoff called over his shoulder. “What’s so wrong with your ears that you wont show us them?”

Ray mumbled a response to himself.

“Speak the fuck up, asshole. I can’t hear you if you don’t annunciate.” He crossed his arms, shifting his weight impatiently.

“I said it’s not manly.” He pouted, putting his head on his desk and wrapping his arms around his face. “I’m the fucking Easter Bunny, for God sake.” Suddenly he felt a finger slip up the back of the beanie and hook it. He shot up, holding the hat down. “What the fuck, _let go_!”

“No, I’m not gonna deal with you moping around because you’re being dumb.” Geoff pulled at the fabric, making the younger tense up. “If you don’t take off the hat and deal with the problem, I’m going to yank it off and make you. You have two other guys in this room who are not particularly ‘manly’ either and you don’t see them complaining about it.”

The tips of his ears fell out into sight, Ray felt it. “Fine, _fine_! Just let go and I’ll take it off, ok? Sheesh, peer pressure is not ok.” With a grimace on his face he ripped the hat off and his ears popped up into comfortable positions, flopping over slightly. He closed his eyes, fully expecting them all to burst into laughter.

When no one laughed, he looked around the room to see straight faces.

“Now was that so hard?” Geoff stared him right in the eye with a hard gaze. “Big _fucking_ deal, you’re a rabbit. What did you think would happen?”

“More jokes, actually.” Ray deadpanned, but his nerves started to melt away.

Jack clapped a hand on his shoulder. “Oh don’t worry, those are coming. I can go get the Caribou, she’s probably got a few puns up her sleeve.”

“I’m good for now, thanks.” Ray smiled. “So… this is it, we’re all part of the circus now.”

Gavin had forgotten he was angry, entering the conversation. “Remember what you said when you first saw my wings? We’re livin’ in a zoo.”

“Yeah, I guess it’s about time we got used to it.” Everyone glanced around, noticing how _different_ everything has become in last few months.

And, for once, no one seemed to mind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That's the end for now!!! ;u; Thank you all for reading this, I never expected this to get so popular! But don't worry, I plan on writing MANY more stories in the Hybrid universe. And if everything goes as planned, you all will be seeing a lot more work from me in the future <3


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